The IGNOU library is the most resourceful information centre in the country in the field of Distance Education. The library has the largest collection of books, journals and other related materials in the field of Distance Education, throughout the country. It was established in 1986 in tune with the objectives of IGNOU.

Mission
The primary mission of the library is to support the educational and research programmes of the University by providing physical and intellectual access to information. In accordance with the objectives of the University, the library aims to develop a comprehensive collection of documents, useful for the readers.

IGNOU Library
The Indira Gandhi National Open University operates through a three-tier system having University Headquarters at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi; 59 Regional Centres and five (5) Sub-Regional Centres in various States and 1,621 Study Centres scattered all over the country. Library and Documentation Division is a hierarchical system with the Central Library at the Headquarters followed by libraries located at Regional Centres (RCL) and Study Centres (SCL). The Central Library caters to the needs of Academic, Administrative and Supportive staff and students at the headquarters.The RCLs look into the library requirements of Staff, Students, Academic Counselors and Academic coordinators at Regional Centres and the SCLs to meet the needs of the students exclusively. The number of RCLs and SCLs change from time to time depending upon the establishment of new RCs and SCs considering the enrollment of students in the region. Every RC and SC invariably has a small library attached to it. The Central Library is the main library which co-ordinates the effective functioning and development of RCLs and SCLs.The Central Library has been using the LIBSYS, an integrated Library Management software package with all the modules for the library housekeeping operations. Using LIBSYS Web OPAC, users can search the Library online catalogue by Author, Title, Subject and Keywords.

As the role of the Library within any University can be realised only in the context of the institution's philosophy of education, the basic objectives of the L&DD are in tune with those of the IGNOU. They are as follows:

To develop appropriate collections in various disciplines for satisfying the needs of the diverse clientele of the libraries of the University, Regional and Study Centres,

To provide reading, lending, reference, information and documentation facilities to all categories of staff and students,

To develop a special collection of distance education books and journals at the libraries at the Headquarters as well as Regional Centres, and

To provide documentation and comprehensive reference/information services in areas related to distance education to other Open Universities of the world in general and in India in particular.